Prescribed burns, timber harvests and other activities are carefully planned to keep Michigan’s nearly 4 million acres of state forest healthy and thriving.

Plans for these activities are currently being made for 2024, but public comment is welcome now, before those plans are finalized. In-person open houses were suspended during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many forest management units are returning to in-person open houses this season; you may also comment online or in writing.

To find out what activities are planned for the forest, choose the geographic area you are interested in and take a look at the planned activities on the interactive map. Submit online comments through the map during designated 30-day periods. If you’d prefer to attend an open house in person, scheduled dates are listed below.

Once public comment has been received, a meeting called a compartment review is held. That’s where plans are finalized. Contact the unit manager for details on how to attend an in-person open house or compartment review. The DNR’s Forest Resources Division welcomes public comment on all forest activities.

Units with open comment periods in September are:

• Grayling: Comment period is through Oct. 4; open house is Oct. 4; compartment review is Oct. 18. Contact Thomas Barnes, 989-348-6371, ext. 7440.
• Gwinn: Comment period is through Sept. 20; open house is Sept. 20; compartment review is Oct. 11. Contact Kristen Matson at 906-346-9201, ext. 103.
• Newberry: Comment period is through Oct. 5; open house is Oct. 5; compartment review is Oct. 25. Contact Keith Magnusson, 906-293-3293, ext. 4740.
• Sault Ste. Marie: Comment period is through Sept. 15; open house is Sept. 14; compartment review is Oct. 4. Contact Karen Rodock, 906-477-6048, ext. 2040.
• Shingleton: Comment period is through Sept. 22; open house is Sept. 22; compartment review is Oct. 13. Contact Bob Burnham, 906-452-6227, ext. 240.

See all scheduled comment periods, open houses and compartment review meetings for the 2022 season.